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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Eight new schools to be built in Serbia

Belgrade, 31 March 2006

Serbian Minister of Education and Sport Slobodan Vuksanovic and representatives of two cities and seven municipalities in Serbia today signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the construction of eight new schools and reconstruction of one existing school, as part of a project themed "Improving schools in Serbia."

The memorandum refers to the construction of eight new schools – five elementary and three secondary schools, and reconstruction of the school for children with specific needs. The total value of the loan is €25 million, while the Republic of Serbia will contribute the same amount to the project through participation of local communities, which will secure the land. The repayment period is 20 years, with a five-year grace period.

New elementary schools will be built in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Zemun, and the municipalities of Subotica, Smederevo and Stara Pazova, while the municipalities of Vranje, Novi Pazar and Kraljevo will get three new secondary schools, one medical-technical and two medical schools respectively.

The end of the project is planned for March 31, 2008.

Signatories of the memorandum are Deputy Mayor of Belgrade Radmila Hrustanovic, Mayor of Novi Sad Maja Gojkovic, President of the Zemun municipality Gordana Pop Lazic, President of the Stara Pazova municipality Srdjo Komazec, President of the Smederevo municipality Sasa Radosavljevic, President of the Kraljevo municipality Milos Babic, President of the Vranje municipality Miroljub Stojicic, member of the Subotica Municipal Council for education Edit Pinter-Molnar and representative of the Novi Pazar municipality Bajram Omeragic.

Speaking at a press conference, Vuksanovic stressed that the project authored by a ten-member independent working group has already been drafted. He announced the beginning of the construction works with the transfer of the first installment of the loan.

He added that with good management of the project it will be possible to make some economies, which will make possible the reconstruction of some seven or eight more schools, which have been on the waiting list for more than ten years.

Hrustanovic recalled that no schools had been built for 15 years and since 2002 four new schools have been opened in Belgrade adding that the completion of works on three more schools is planned for September 2006. Those schools are located in Rojkovac, Obrenovac, Drazevac, Stepojevac and Surcin.

According to Hrustanovic, thanks to the help of the European Investment Bank, the local government and the Serbian Ministry of Education plan to build new schools in Nova Galenica, Kaludjerica, Altina and Plavi horizonti. Gojvic said that thanks to this project, Novi Sad will get a new elementary school for the first time in the last 25 years and in that way solve the problem of school capacities, since some schools are now forced to work in three shifts.

She said that the new school will be located in Veternik, where the local government has secured a 3,000 square metre patch of land for that purpose.

Representatives of the European Agency for Reconstruction Michael Kilcommons and GOPA Consultants Trevor Cook were also present at the signing of the memorandum.